Artist Spotlight: PATRICK CARNEY # THE BLACK KEYS

There’s a band consisting of only two members, guitars and drums, which on the spur of the moment might remind you of The White Stripes. But The Black Keys have nothing in common with the former chart breakers, with the exception of their instrumentation and music philosophy. Patrick Carney is no drum virtuoso, no excellent technician in the common sense, and maybe not even a tight groove drummer. His style is hard to describe as Patrick doesn’t give a damn on attributes that we usually apply as leveling rules for drummers. Instead of that you feel that Patrick perfectly complements his bandmate Dan Auerbach as they both disregard the standard virtues of music making.

«We listen to each other, watch each other, and try to be responsive to one another…that’s it», describes Patrick’s essence of The Black Keys. Impressed by blues icons Captain Beefheart and Muddy Waters, Carney cares less about instrumental perfection than about the magical moments in the direct interaction with Dan. This is the reason why The Black Key’s albums feature similar spontaneous energy similar to some of the best live recordings in music history.

Patrick approaches his drum kit set up the same as The Black Keys minimalistic songwriting and recordings are. Currently there seems to be no other band who generates so much out of so little.